White House Releases Expanded Budget Including Major Cuts

The Trump administration has published part two of the “Budget for a Better America,” which expands upon previously introduced spending cuts. Last week, the president’s $4.75 trillion budget introduced cuts to federal employee retirement plans and the reorganization of the Office of Personnel Management.

The California wildfires are wreaking havoc among Californians’ houses, businesses, and schools. California’s largest wildfire in state history is all consuming with tough decisions being made each minute to contain the fire and deter further destruction.

We get several calls a week from federal agency managers who need legal advice or representation but don’t have FEDS Protection in place. Your agency reimburses all managers and supervisors up to half the cost of this insurance – so please – no more of the following excuses. FEDS Protection works just like other insurance policies - if you don’t have coverage in place prior to an incident leading to an allegation, claim or suit, coverage will be denied.

The recent Supreme Court nomination process has demonstrated to the public at large that any Federal employee can be brought forward to testify in a Senate Hearing. As a Federal manager, such an intensive process can be traumatizing especially if personal details become publicized, sensationalized, and/or probed by the media or politicians. In today’s world, conversations, emails, and memos will certainly make news. How do you prepare for this? How do you decide which law firm to hire? Who can you trust?

Did you know that if you are directly accused of wrongdoing, particularly in an OIG or internal management investigation into allegations of wrongdoing, that you will not be assigned an agency attorney? Did you know that even if you are, the attorney’s job is to represent the agency – not you – and that this can have an adverse effect on your future? Managers can and do become embroiled in the complexities of the federal legal investigative process and often become the targets in political agendas. Are you emotionally, financially and legally prepared to defend yourself if you are the next target? We deal with managers, daily, who had no idea the toll this job could take; they had no idea the price one’s family could pay when one is accused of wrongdoing.

In the wake of the recent government shutdown and subsequent strains on the federal community, we have had many FEDS members contact us with concerns about how to handle current or upcoming furloughs. FEDS recognizes the potential negative implications surrounding a government shutdown for all agency employees and stand by you. Below, we have outlined possible areas in which the furlough could lead to adverse employment consequences and tips on how to avoid these situations until the shutdown is resolved.

Cases are won and lost based on the quality of legal representation. If you become the target of an allegation or investigation, one of the first things the agency or investigators will want to know is who is your liability carrier–or–who is your attorney.

Managers often think of liabilities in terms of being the selecting official for an applicant or being brought in for a congressional hearing, but seem to overlook the many other exposures they are prone to in their position each day with their employees.

As the President of FEDS, I didn’t know whether to celebrate the agreement to fund agencies through mid­February or to commiserate over the uncertainty that lies ahead. What I did know, as a former federal employee, is that the fallout of a shutdown brings uncertainty into homes of employees and frustration where offices or agencies are unstaffed or understaffed. Due to the potential stress caused by such circumstances, I made the decision early on in December that FEDS member benefits would not be interrupted and that policies would remain in-force, even if there were missed payments during or because of a shutdown. I feel that it was necessary then, and now more than ever, that you know that we are in this with all federal employees, and that we will always have your back.

FEDS just celebrated its 10-year anniversary defending federal employees. When the company was founded, the goal was to provide the very best legal representation and customer service in the industry – and we did that.